As the Slayer’s best friend, Willow was always predictably good…until she wasn’t. And we all know what happens when good girls go bad. In honor of “evil Willow,” I’ve named the predictability principle after her.

As a show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer kept a predictable pattern across each season. There was an overarching thematic concept, ongoing character drama and one big bad, plus a few cameos from single episode demons. This kept fans comfortably in the loop, without giving too much away.

Be Predictable

Sure, Lost was a fun show (in its own confusing way), but there is a lot to be said for consistency. Create a certain amount of expectations from your Page Members with content patterns or themes. These can be as overt as “Fan Friday” where users submit photos for a chance to be featured as the fan of the week, or a more low-key guideline that fan appreciation content will be posted on Friday.

Pick a Pattern

Branded content brings more personality to your Page by establishing patterns and themes for each day. These overarching topics allow for flexibility in specific content, while also setting expectations of material. This gives Page Members something to look forward to, while also helping them very quickly recognize your posts in their newsfeed.

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[...] Facebook Marketing Lessons from Buffy: The Willow Principle » Alison Driscoll "Create a certain amount of expectations from your Page Members with content patterns or themes. These can be as overt as “Fan Friday” where users submit photos for a chance to be featured as the fan of the week, or a more low-key guideline that fan appreciation content will be posted on Friday." – The Willow Principle. Für alle momentan Unwissenden – Buffy wird im Free-TV auf Einsplus wiederholt. Alle Staffeln, alle Folgen. (tags: Buffy, Facebook, TV,) [...]

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About Me

I'm an interactive copywriter, social media marketing consultant, Facebook fanatic and advertising junkie living in Las Vegas. I love writing about anything and everything, but especially internet marketing, lip gloss and cool new stuff online. Also co-author of The Facebook Marketing Book from O'Reilly.